Though not necessary, users have the option of installing the [http://www.archlinux.org/groups/i686/base-devel/ base-devel] group for some software development tools. This group is a requirement for building packages from the [[Arch User Repository]].

Among '''base-devel''' are several members of the [[Wikipedia:GNU toolchain|GNU toolchain]], a ''"suite of tools used in a serial manner [...] for developing applications and operating systems"''. The key components of this toolchain are: